NORTH BATTLEFORD WATER INQUIRY

Transcription

1 NORTH BATTLEFORD WATER INQUIRY SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD PRIEL, STEVENSON, HOOD & THORNTON Barristers & Solicitors # A 21 st Street East Saskatoon, SK S7K 0C1

2 INDEX I. INTRODUCTION. 1 Page II. LEGAL REGIME FOR WATER MANAGEMENT IN SASKATCHEWAN 2 A. ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF PARTIES 2 B. WATER QUALITY OBJECTIVES.. 7 C. CONCLUSION. 13 III. CONSIDERATION OF TERMS OF REFERENCE 13 A. THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE CURRENT CONTAMINATION OF THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY OF THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD. 13 (i) Illness In The North Battleford Area.. 13 (ii) Presence Of Cryptosporidium In Municipal Water. 19 B. ADEQUACY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ACTIONS TAKEN BY OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SASKATCHEWAN, THE BATTLEFORDS DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD AND THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD LEADING UP TO AND IN RESPONSE TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONTAMINATION OF THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY IN THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD (i) (ii) Actions leading up to: (A) The Government of Saskatchewan (B) Battlefords District Health Board. 23 (C) The City of North Battleford 28 (I) The operation of Plant January 1 to March 20, (II) March 20, (III) March 20 to April 24, (IV) The Foreman s Position. 31 Response to the Discovery of the Contamination (A) The Government of Saskatchewan 31 (B) The Battleford District Health Board. 33 (C) The City of North Battleford 33 C. THE EFFECT (IF ANY) OF THE REGULATIONS, BYLAWS, POLICIES, GUIDELINES, PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES OF OR APPLICABLE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SASKATCHEWAN, THE BATTLEFORD DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD AND THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD ON THE EVENTS REFERRED TO IN A AND B.. 35 (i) Government of Saskatchewan 35 (ii) Battlefords District Health Board.. 43

3 (iii) City of North Battleford. 44 (a) History.. 44 (b) Location of Wastewater Treatment Plant.. 45 (c) Qualifications of the Director of Public Works. 47 (d) Ivan Katzell 49 (e) Filling of the Position of Plants Foreman 51 (f) Prior Knowledge by the City of North Battleford of a risk of a Cryptosporidium outbreak.. 52 (g) Previous Contaminations. 54 (h) Support by the City for the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants.. 55 D. ANY OTHER RELEVANT MATTERS THAT THE COMMISSION CONSIDERS NECESSARY TO DETERMINE THAT THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD S PUBLIC DRINKING WATER IS SAFE IN THE FUTURE.. 56 (i) Steps Taken by the City of North Battleford.. 56 (ii) Recommendations. 58 IV. CONCLUSION. 61

4 NORTH BATTLEFORD WATER INQUIRY SUBMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD I. INTRODUCTION 1. This Commission of Inquiry was established under The Public Inquiries Act of the Province of Saskatchewan, by Order in Council dated May 10, The Order in Council stated that it was deemed advisable and in the public interest that an inquiry be made into the safety of the public drinking water in the City of North Battleford, in the Province of Saskatchewan, with the result that this Commission of Inquiry was established with the following Terms of Reference: Terms of Reference: 1. The Commission of Inquiry appointed pursuant to the Order will have the responsibility to inquire into and report on and make findings and recommendations with respect to any and all aspects of the following matters: (a) (b) (c) (d) The circumstances that led to the current contamination of the public water supply of the City of North Battleford; The adequacy and effectiveness of the actions taken by officials of the Government of Saskatchewan, the Battlefords District Health Board and the City of North Battleford leading up to and in response to the discovery of the contamination of the public water supply in the City of North Battleford; The effect, if any, of the regulations, bylaws, policies, guidelines, procedures and practices of or applicable to the Government of Saskatchewan, the Battlefords District Health Board and the City of North Battleford on the events referred to in (a) and (b); Any other relevant matters that the Commission considers necessary to determine that the City of North Battlefords public drinking water is safe in the future It is unfortunate that the Terms of Reference, on the basis of which the Commission was constituted, stated, as a starting point, that the public water supply of the City of North Battleford was contaminated on May 10, The Reference is to current contamination of the public water supply at the City of North Battleford. The Order in Council was issued on May 10, At that time, there was simply no evidence upon which a reasonable conclusion could be drawn that the public water supply of the City of North Battleford was then contaminated.

5 3. The City of North Battleford is confident that the Commission will not be affected in its conclusions by assumptions made by the drafter of the Terms of Reference and will be guided only by the evidence presented to the Commission and reasonable conclusions that can be drawn therefrom. II. LEGAL REGIME FOR WATER MANAGEMENT IN SASKATCHEWAN A. ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF PARTIES 4. Following the Walkerton incident in May, 2000, SERM, Saskatchewan Water Corporation and Saskatchewan Health, i.e. Government departments with primary and regulatory responsibility for drinking water, prepared a Cabinet Decision Item ( CDI ) for the Cabinet of the Government of Saskatchewan. A draft CDI was prepared dated September 22, 2000 with another draft being prepared dated November 20, In each of the drafts, SERM, Saskatchewan Health and Saskatchewan Water make the following comment: The Government of Saskatchewan had a mandate and obligation to ensure that drinking water is clean, safe and accessible to all residents. 5. In Figure I of the November 20, 2000 CDI, which appears at Tab 19, Binder B of Exhibit C43, the role and responsibilities of Saskatchewan Health, Saskatchewan Water, SERM and Municipalities are dealt with. Some of the more important roles and responsibilities of those parties are described in Figure I as follows: (a) Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management: Has the primary provincial responsibility for drinking water safety for communal and public works. Comments on applications to construct for community systems and those private works with an average flow of potable water exceeding 18 cubic meters per day. Sets objectives and monitoring guidelines for the Province s drinking water quality which includes biological, general chemical, health and toxicity related parameters. Issues Minister s orders for monitoring of water works. Manages the reporting, notification and follow up of any positive bacteriological and other analytical results for regulated facilities. Conducts monitoring and compliance inspections. Maintains a database of drinking water quality information including bacteriological, general chemical, physical, health and toxicity, biocide and radiological related parameters.

6 Establishes operator certification standards and facility classifications. Review of intensive livestock operations at the request of Agriculture and Food for water quality impacts. (b) Saskatchewan Water: Issues approvals to construct and operate all municipal and commercial water systems. Reviews and comments on the design of treatment plants. Review of intensive livestock operations at the request of Agriculture and Food for water quality impacts.... (c) Saskatchewan Health/Health Districts: Do not have stand alone regulations that deal with drinking water... Require all municipalities (except northern communities) to ensure that there is a supply of potable water for use by the residents of the community. Provide water quality information, interpretation of water quality analysis and advise on any necessary water treatment when approached by an owner/user of private or nonmunicipal systems with less than 18 cubic meters per day flow rate. Medical health officers act as advisors to SERM on water quality matters that may impact the public s health as well as the authority to issue emergency boil water orders. Saskatchewan Health s provincial lab provides most drinking water quality analysis including bacteriological analysis in Saskatchewan. 6. In Figure I of the CDI under date of November 20, 2000, the role and responsibility of municipalities with respect to drinking water is discussed. The role and responsibility of municipalities in that respect is described as follows: In general must meet SERM s and Sask. Water s regulations governing drinking water and report the status of the operation to SERM. Responsible for collection of the water quality samples and submitting the results to SERM. Owners of waterworks ensure that the system is operated to meet the criteria outlined by the municipal drinking water quality objectives.

7 Owners of waterworks are required to report to SERM if disinfection equipment fails. With the exception of northern communities, municipalities are required under The Public Health Act to ensure that there is a supply of potable water for use by residents. 7. It is important to note that in the CDI of November 20, 2000, the drafters of that document, being representatives of SERM, Saskatchewan Health and Saskatchewan Water acknowledged that the Government of Saskatchewan has a mandate and obligation to ensure that drinking water is clean, safe and accessible to all residents. Those same parties describe the responsibility of SERM as being the primary provincial responsibility for drinking water safety for communal and public works. SERM is required to set objectives and monitoring guidelines which municipalities are expected to meet. The references in paragraphs 5 & 6 to the role and responsibilities of the parties are also contained in the binder of Bob Ruggles (Exhibit C-104 ). 8. SERM produced a Municipal Drinking Water Safety Report, a draft of which appears under Tab B15 of the binder of Bob Ruggles, which binder was marked as Exhibit C104. At page iv of the Executive Summary to that report appears the following statement. Safe drinking water is an important goal in the province which is achieved through numerous methods such as regulatory controls, proper systems operations, capital investments, water supplies and training programs. In January, 1991, Saskatchewan Health set an objective of by the year 2000; one hundred percent of the Saskatchewan population will have access to safe and adequate drinking water. In March, 1991, Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management released new objectives for municipal drinking water quality. There was also an announcement that the Government would work with communities to develop strategies for drinking water safety. 9. In the aforementioned Municipal Drinking Water Safety Report, there is a discussion about how SERM views municipal drinking water quality objectives. At page v of the Executive Summary Report, the Report makes the following point: Criteria has been established for surface and ground water treatment works to assess drinking water safety. The province s municipal drinking water quality objectives are used to assess whether a community s drinking water quality presents a safety problem. Since zero risk or absolute safety is unachievable, the objectives and treatment are used to assess risks rather than as definitive standards on whether drinking water is safe or unsafe. Communities are expected to employ adequate water treatment works and comply with the municipal drinking water quality objectives over time to minimize health risks.

8 10. Professor Marie-Ann Bowden testified before the Commission and provided an opinion as to the legal regime for water management in Saskatchewan, which was received by the Commission as Exhibit C Professor Bowden did an analysis of the roles and responsibilities of various Government Departments with respect to water quality issues. 12. At page 5 of her opinion, with reference to Saskatchewan Water, Professor Bowden references Section 41(1) of The Water Corporation Act. In referencing that section, Professor Bowden made the following comment: Although section 41(1) of The Water Corporation Act vests the property in and right to the use of all ground water and surface water... in the Crown, the responsibility for that resource does not rest solely with Sask. Water. Jurisdiction for water is shared among several Ministers within the province. 13. Professor Bowden then discussed the role and responsibility of the Minister of Environment and SERM. In doing so, she commented as follows: According to The Environmental Management and Protection Act (hereafter EMPA ) the Minister of Environment is responsible for all matters not assigned to any other Minister, department, branch or agency of the Government of Saskatchewan relating to the environment and to enhancing and protecting the quality of the environment. In addition to this wide-ranging power regarding environmental protection, the Minister has general supervision, control and regulation of all matters concerning water quality and its impairment by pollution. More specifically, section 14 of EMPA articulates a number of duties of a mandatory nature required by the minister in order to protect water quality as well as a number of discretionary powers. It is important to note that it is the positive responsibility of the Minister of Environment to undertake and coordinate research, investigations and planning respecting water quality and water pollution By virtue of Section 15(1) of the EMPA, SERM has an overall responsibility for the collection, processing and storage of data on the quality of water resources of Saskatchewan. 15. Professor Bowden concluded, and the City of North Battleford urges the Commission to find, that the Minister of Environment and SERM have the legislative mandate and the ability, if they so choose, to assume responsibility for all aspects of water quality management within the borders of the Province of Saskatchewan from source to tap. At page 8 of her presentation, Professor Bowden made the following comment:

9 The sum total of these general provisions plus more specific provisions in both EMPA and the regulations relating to specific aspects of water quality management, is that the Minister of Environment is the paramount authority when it comes to the maintenance and enhancement of water quality within the province. Although the possibility for cooperation with other levels of government and other agencies exist, and the regulations specifically charge other stakeholders with duties in relation to particular water uses, arguably, it is the Minister, and his Department, who are the lead parties with respect to the protection of this resource within the borders of the province. 16. Professor Bowden then considered the responsibility of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. That Minister is responsible for the administration of The Water Corporation Act. Professor Bowden pointed to Section 16(1)(a) of The Water Corporation Act to make the following comment: In turn, the corporation, Sask. Water, is charged with the responsibility to manage, administer, develop, control and protect the water and related land resources of Saskatchewan. In addition, Sask. Water has the power to maintain and enhance the quality of water and related land resources for domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational and other purposes, to promote the economical and efficient use, distribution and conservation of the water and related land resources of Saskatchewan, and to undertake and coordinate research, investigations, surveys, studies and programs. 17. With respect to the role and responsibility of Sask. Health, the Commission s attention is respectfully directed to the analysis of that role and responsibility contained in the CDI previously referenced. 18. By way of conclusion, the City of North Battleford does not minimize its role as one of a number of players who have responsibility for the maintenance and delivery of safe water to residents of the City of North Battleford. We suggest, however, that an over-arching responsibility lies with the Government of Saskatchewan (SERM in particular) to take a lead role in that respect. SERM has the tools (i.e. the legislative authority) to do so. Water is a renewable natural resource. If the watershed is not protected, water will become less of a renewable resource. We urge the Commission to conclude that the Government of Saskatchewan has a mandate and obligation to ensure that drinking water is clean, safe and accessible to all residents and that that mandate and obligation is a primary one. B. WATER QUALITY OBJECTIVES

10 19. Key to a completion of the task of the Commission will be its determination with respect to the question what were the municipal drinking water quality objectives which the City of North Battleford was required to meet? at the time of the Cryptosporidiosis outbreak. 20. It is clear that SERM expects municipalities, such as the City of North Battleford, to comply with the municipal drinking water quality objectives and that municipalities have, in the past, considered that compliance with municipal drinking water quality objectives was required. Further, municipalities should be free to conclude that by complying with those objectives there was reasonable assurance that the drinking water which was being produced was safe as being free from pathogenic organisms, hazardous chemical and radioactive substances and objectionable colour, odor and taste. 21. Measurement of turbidity in treated drinking water is a very important surrogate parameter used to determine the quality of treated water. Turbidity was never intended to be a test for, nor is it a definite indicator of the potential for parasites. 22. Beginning in 1968, guidelines were developed for Canadian drinking water quality. Beginning in about 1986, there was developed a Federal/Provincial committee on environment and occupational health which had as an obligation the revision and updating of Canadian drinking water guidelines on a continuing basis. 23. In the 1996, 6 th Edition of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, viruses and protozoa are referenced on page 14 in Section 3.3. That Section reads as follows: 3.3 Viruses and Protozoa Guidelines for viruses and protozoa are not proposed at this time, but relevant information is currently being reviewed (see Table 5). It is desirable, however, that no viruses or protozoa (e.g. Giardia) be detected. A water treatment system that provides effective filtration and disinfection and maintains an adequate disinfectant residual should produce water of an acceptable quality in this regard. Where possible, source protection should also be exercised. 24. At page 22 (Table 2) in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, the guideline for turbidity is a maximum acceptable concentration of 1.0 NTU and not greater than 5.0 NTU at the point of consumption. 25. The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality were amended effective March of It should be noted that the amended Guidelines were prepared by the Federal/Provincial Subcommittee on

11 Drinking Water and that Mr. Thon Phommavong of SERM sits on that subcommittee. At page 3 of the revised Guidelines, Protozoa is dealt with as follows: Protozoa Numerical guidelines for the Protozoa, Giardia and Cryptosporidium are not proposed at this time. Routine methods available for the detection of protozoan cysts and oocysts suffer from low recovery rates and do not provide any information on their viability or human infectivity. Nevertheless, until better monitoring data and information on the viability and infectivity of cysts and oocysts present in drinking water are available, measures to reduce the risk of illness as much as possible should be implemented. If viable, human infectious cysts or oocysts are present or suspected to be present in source waters or if Giardia or Cryptosporidium has been responsible for past water-borne outbreaks in a community, a treatment regime and a watershed or well head protection plan (where feasible) or other measures known to reduce the risk of illness should be implemented. 26. The March, 2001 revised Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality makes no change from the 1996 Guidelines with respect to the Turbidity parameter. It is still 1.0 NTU with an aesthetic objective of less than 5.0 NTUs at the point of consumption. The 1991 Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives produced by SERM deal also with turbidity. The parameter with respect to turbidity in those Objectives read as follows: Turbidity The maximum acceptable concentration for turbidity is one nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU) for water entering a distribution system. A maximum of five NTU may be permitted if it can be demonstrated that disinfection is not compromised by the use of this less stringent value. An aesthetic objective of five NTU has been set for the point of consumption Evidence was led through Peter Thiele to the effect that in 1996, the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives were amended and, in particular, the turbidity parameter was amended. The amended objectives are said to appear in Exhibit C1 under Tab 3. That is a 2-page document which would appear to be little more than a copy of a poster. The reference to turbidity in that document shows that the maximum acceptable concentration for turbidity is one NTU with an aesthetic objective of five NTU. The footnote reads as follows: (1) Turbidity The MAC of one NTU applies to water in the water distribution system. A maximum of five NTU may be permitted if it can be demonstrated that disinfection is not compromised by the less stringent value. 28. The change to the turbidity parameter is stated to be in the footnote wherein it is apparently provided that the maximum acceptable concentration of one NTU applies to water in the distribution

12 system whereas it had previously been provided that the maximum acceptable concentration of one NTU applies to water entering the distribution system. The issue becomes important because North Battleford had a mixture of surface water and ground water in its distribution system. Ground water often has a turbidity level greater than one NTU because of the iron and other minerals present in that water. 29. There is an issue about whether or not there was an actual change to the turbidity parameter in 1996 and, if there was, whether the reference to the turbidity parameter being a maximum acceptable concentration of one NTU applying to water in the distribution system was nothing more than a typographical error and the word in should have read entering. Whether or not there was a change in the turbidity parameter, the Commission will have to consider notice, or lack thereof, given to municipalities such as the City of North Battleford of the alleged change. 30. With respect to the above-noted issues, it is useful to have regard for the following facts: (a) In 1991, when the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives were published by SERM, it was a rather lengthy document which specifically provided that the 1991 document replaced the June, 1980 Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives. (b) (c) (d) The only evidence before the Commission with respect to the 1996 Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives is a copy of a poster containing some parameters with a handwritten note on the bottom March, There is no indication in that document that the document was intended to replace the 1991 Objectives, and no evidence of any backup documents or evidence of consultation undertaken prior to an amendment, nor was any evidence produced of ministerial approval for any such change. Reference should be had to Policy and Operations Binder A, i.e. Exhibit C42, Tab 4. There appears at that point, the March, 1996 Municipal Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Guidelines dated March, At page 3 of that document, reference is made to the March, 1991 Drinking Water Quality Objectives. The Monitoring Guidelines are dated March, 1996, i.e. the date written on the poster referred to in paragraph (b). No mention is made of any revised 1996 Water Quality Objectives. Government witnesses were pressed, in cross-examination by counsel for the City of North Battleford, to produce background documents relating to the alleged amendments to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives in No such documents were produced. At page 186 of the evidence of Bob Ruggles (lines 10 to 21) appears the following questions and answers: Q: Okay, because you know, I have been asking for it for about a month now and no one s given it to me. So in any event, so there is such a new document and you can produce it for the inquiry? A: If I may, there is a document that was used to produce the 1996 updated Drinking Water Objectives for the Province. That document is actually the National Drinking Water Guideline document that was produced in Q: Okay.

13 A: So we didn t in the province, produce a separate document like we did in 91. We used the.. the actual.. the national document for Mr. Ruggles, previously in his testimony, indicated that what was intended in 1996 was to simply adopt the Federal Guidelines. (e) (f) (g) The only notice of 1996 Provincial/Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives were references to it in the Clearwater Reporter and whoever was on the distribution list for that publication. No document was produced by the department, issued by the Minister, saying as it had said in 1991, that the 1996 Objectives were replacing the 1991 Objectives. With the exception of the Clearwater Reporter references, nothing was said to municipalities, in particular. nothing was said to the City of North Battleford about that. Publication of the Clearwater Reporter ended in The Commission s attention is respectfully directed to Exhibit C57. That Exhibit contains a number of documents beginning as early as April 27, What the documents are, are a series of letters from the Data Management Unit, Environmental Protection Branch of SERM directed to the City of North Battleford containing a computer printout of the constituents analyzed in the samples submitted to SERM of the municipal treated drinking water together with a comparison of those constituents as they relate to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives. In each case, turbidity is referenced. Between 1988 and 1998, in these documents, SERM consistently told the City that the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives called for a turbidity level of 5.0. During the years 1998 and 1999, references on the documents to turbidity and all other constituents were simply left blank. Beginning in 1999, immediately after the Walkerton incident, a letter dated June 7, 2000, makes reference to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives and an objective of 5.0 with respect to turbidity. The last letter the City received from SERM commenting on the treated drinking water sample provided for analysis, was dated November 5, 2001 and on that document reference is made to a Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objective of 1.0. In Exhibit C-85, the binder of Rodger A. McDonald, has a reference in it, under Tab 21, to the boil water order removal information submission of the City of North Battleford dated July 17, Contained in that submission is the protocol for removal of the boil water order. That protocol was signed by the City under the hand of Wayne Ray, by Sask. Health under the hand of Dr. Butler-Jones, by the Battlefords Health District under the hand of Dr. Shauna Hudson, and by SERM under the hand of Mark Getzlaf. The Commission s attention is respectfully directed to paragraph 1(a) on page 2 of that protocol, which reads as follows: 1(a) Surface Water Treatment Plant The safety of the surface water supply can be demonstrated by turbidity, free and total chlorine residuals, total coliform and fecal coliform levels which meet SERM s Objectives/Regulations for safe drinking water. The water must also be free Cryptosporidium and Giardia organisms. This must be demonstrated by sampling according to the attached sampling schedule. (emphasis added) Continuous turbidity monitoring recorded hourly during plant operation. Hourly readings of the effluent directed to clear well

14 from filter banks one and two as well as three and four must be less than 0.30 NTU for 12 consecutive hours over the operating day and at no time greater than 1.0 NTU for the two week period prior to rescinding the EBWO. (h) (i) Rodger McDonald testified that, as an expert operating in the area of water and waste water treatment and having been engaged by SERM on a number of occasions for advice and assistance, he knew nothing about alleged amendments made in 1996 to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives. In the information package provided by Mr. McDonald to SERM with respect to the removal of the boil water order, Mr. McDonald attached as a schedule a copy of a 1991 Drinking Water Quality Objectives. It is interesting to note that at no time did anyone from SERM take exception to the references by Mr. McDonald to the 1991 Drinking Water Quality Objectives. No one told him and no one raised as an issue the fact that the 1991 Drinking Water Quality Objectives were no longer applicable and one should be looking at 1996 Objectives. 31. It can only be concluded that what SERM intended to do in 1996 was to simply adopt as its own the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. There was no evidence of any consultation, and no evidence of notification given by SERM to anyone with reference to any alleged changes with the exception of the copy of the poster entered in evidence together with references to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives in the Clearwater Reporter. Alternatively, we suggest it would be fair to conclude from all of the evidence that the reference to an alleged change in the turbidity from 1.0 entering the distribution system to 1.0 in the distribution system is nothing more than a typographical error in a poster. There was never any intention to change the Objective with respect to turbidity. Certainly, the correspondence between SERM and the City of North Battleford with reference to the municipal treated drinking water samples would lead the City clearly to the conclusion that the people in SERM responsible for advising municipalities with respect to the constituents analyzed in the drinking water sample and how they compare to the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives understood as late as June of the year 2000, that the Municipal Drinking Water Quality Objectives with respect to the City of North Battleford was 5.0. We suggest that given the representations made by SERM to the City of North Battleford in Exhibit C57, SERM is estopped from taking a contrary position in these proceedings. C. CONCLUSION 32. By way of conclusion, it is fair to say that the City of North Battleford, like all other municipalities, should be entitled to conclude, in the words of the boil water order removal criteria the safety of the surface water supply can be demonstrated by turbidity, free and total chlorine residuals, total coliform and fecal coliform levels which meet SERM s Objectives/Regulations for safe drinking water. Certainly, the City of North Battleford recognizes that it is advisable to produce treated drinking water from its surface water treatment plant with a low turbidity level. The lower the turbidity level, the less risk there is of contamination of the treated drinking water. A municipality is, however, entitled to rely upon the

15 objectives/regulations of the regulator, SERM, and is entitled to consider whether or not it meets those regulations/objectives, as an indicator of whether or not safe water is being produced. If it meets the objectives/regulations, it ought to be able to conclude that the treated drinking water is safe. 33. If a municipality is required to say that, in effect, SERM s Objectives/Regulations for safe drinking water must be ignored and a much more stringent set of rules must be applied, then there is only one conclusion to which one can come, and that is that SERM s Objectives/Regulations for safe drinking water are wholly inadequate. It should be noted that although settling in the solids contact unit was the subject of much discussion in this case, settling percentages are not the subject of regulations or objectives. III. CONSIDERATION OF TERMS OF REFERENCE A. THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE CURRENT CONTAMINATION OF THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY OF THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD. (i) Illness In The North Battleford Area 34. The epidemiological evidence of the case series study is that onset dates of illness ranged from January 1 to May 23, 2001 within the Battlefords Health Service Area. A total of 1,039 persons became ill after March 20. Of these persons, 110 (11%) had Cryptosporidium oocysts identified in their stool. One hundred nineteen individuals reported diarrhea onset prior to March 21. Of these, 10 (8%) had Cryptosporidium oocysts identified in their stool. 35. The case-series study outside the Battlefords Health Service Area disclosed symptom onset dates for visitors from February 1 to May 30; the majority of the cases were observed from April 15 to April 30. A total of 955 persons became ill; of these, 868 identified symptom onset subsequent to March 20 and 22 identified symptom onset prior to March 20; another 45 cases had an unknown date of onset. Of the 868 individuals who met the case definition, 218 submitted a stool sample and 165 (19.1%) were laboratory confirmed. There is no evidence as to any submission of stool samples or lab results in respect of the 21 individuals with diarrhea onset prior to March 21. Random sampling in stool specimens submitted from persons associated with the outbreak identified Cryptosporidium as the only pathogen present; there was no finding of the presence of Giardia. 36. The Epidemiological Cross-sectional Study involved telephone interviews of 259 households, comprising 652 individuals. The survey included 161 households who, from February 14 to April 25 used North Battleford municipal water as the sole source of tap water. Of the 652 persons, 314 (48.2%) were asymptomatic; 338 persons (51.8%) were symptomatic and of these, 289 (44.3%) had diarrhea. Two hundred fifty-seven had diarrhea onset March 21 or later; 32 had diarrhea onset prior to March 21. Of

16 these, 21 individuals had onsets between February 14 and March 20 and 11 had onsets prior to February 14 (Exhibit C12, Tab 1, p.38). 37. There were 196 individuals who met the definition of a primary case and 51 individuals who met the secondary case definition (Exhibit C12, Tab 2, p.18). The study defined a primary case as one which occurred subsequent to March 20. The first primary case occurred March 21 with the peak in primary cases per day occurring April 13. The median date of onset of primary cases occurred April 10. The first secondary case occurred April 6 with the peak in secondary cases on April Dr. Ellis evidence is that the incubation for Cryptosporidium ranges between 1 to 12 days with an average period being 7 days. Dr. Ellis evidence is that the minimum human dose to establish an infection would be approximately 10 oocysts. 39. Dr. Belosovic testified that the incubation period is typically 5/7 to 10 days, however, if you have an immunocompromised individual, it could be as little as 2 days. Dr. Belosovic also stated that the period of incubation will be dependent upon the number of parasites to which the individual is exposed as it takes time for the parasites to multiply before they can be seen in the feces. Dr. Belosovic s evidence is that an infectious dose is approximately 130 oocysts; Infectious Dose 50 (ID50) is the dose required to infect 50% of the population. According to Dr. Belosovic, in an outbreak of this nature, some individuals would present with symptoms at 5 days and others with symptoms at 20 days. We submit that Dr. Belosovic s evidence is more detailed, thorough and credible. 40. Dr. Ellis evidence is that the increase in gastroenteritis in the community coincided with the breakdown of the Solids Contact Unit (SCU). Dr. Ellis report relies upon the increase in the finished water turbidity as evidence that the SCU had an impact on the quality of the drinking water and by inference that the Cryptosporidium must have entered the water system during the period of higher turbidity. No attempt was made to quantify the level at which this might occur. Dr. Ellis is not an engineer nor is she qualified in water treatment and relationship of turbidity to provide an opinion that higher turbidity had a direct impact on the quality of drinking water and in particular, that higher turbidity had any relationship to the presence or absence of Cryptosporidium. 41. Rodger McDonald testified that turbidity is not a test for parasites; nor is it a definitive surrogate indicator for potential parasites. Dr. Belosovic was of the opinion that you could not make a direct parallel between turbidity and the presence of parasites. In his opinion a low level of turbidity would not be an absolute indicator that parasites would not be there. We suggest that a reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the evidence is that, at best, turbidity is a surrogate parameter that is not and was never intended to act as a measurement to detect the presence/ absence or, if present, the level, of protozoa. The best that can be

17 said is that a higher or lower level of turbidity would allow one to conclude only that there is a higher or lower (as the case may be) risk of the presence of protozoa. Obviously, a turbidity level of 0.3 ntu, or less, means that there is less risk that protozoa the size of Cryptosporidium, i.e. 2 to 5 microns, would enter the system. At low turbidity levels (0.3 ntu or less) in the treated water, a particle counter may well register 30 per m.l. particles of the size of Cryptosporidium oocysts. That would mean there would be 30,000 such particles in a litre and 3,000,000 such particles in 100 litres. Normally, a test for Cryptosporidium would involve a determination of the number of such oocysts in a quantity of 100 litres of water. The conclusion one comes to is that in 100 litres of treated water, there may be 3,000,000 particles the size of Cryptosporidium oocysts in which water has a turbidity level that is very acceptable. It should be noted that Alberta has or is considering regulations which would prescribe a particle count requirement of 50 m.l. The point, therefore, is that those numbers will not preclude the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the treated water. 42. Dr. Ellis acknowledges that the association of exposure to North Battleford municipal water with illness is not as strong as seen in other waterborne outbreaks. Further, Dr. Ellis acknowledges that it is difficult to assess the significance of laboratory confirmed Cryptosporidiosis infections with reported symptom onsets before March 21. It must be noted that Dr. Ellis was engaged by the Province of Saskatchewan, one of the parties to this proceeding. 43. It is submitted that Dr. Ellis attempts to rationalize and disregard such lab-confirmed results is a rationalization made to permit her to ignore such cases as potentially being explained by recall bias, subsequent infection or infection from another source. Dr. Ellis acknowledges that it is difficult to determine the exact date of the outbreak. The Cryptosporidiosis log maintained for the Battlefords Health District Service Area identifies a number of individuals whose stool tested positive for Cryptosporidium and whose symptom onset date preceded March 21, 2001 (Exhibit C16, Tab B-4). Patient Number Onset Date Patient Number Onset Date 61 01/02/ /20 (typo) 62 01/03/ / /03/ / /03/ / /03/ / /02/ / /01/ / /03/24 Dr. Ellis has simply chosen to ignore the very plausible explanation that Cryptosporidium was present in the North Battleford drinking water prior to March 20 and at a time when the Water Treatment Plant was

18 operating optimally with full function of the multi-barrier approach including coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation in the SCU. Ten (8%) of the 119 individuals who had the onset of diarrhea prior to March 21 were lab-confirmed positive for Cryptosporidiosis. This fact cannot simply be ignored or explained away by recall bias or history. If recall bias and history exists, then the same should be factored into those individuals who reported onset of symptoms subsequent to March 21. In respect of the individuals outside the Battleford Health Service Area, 21 reported diarrhea prior to March 20, however no results are given as to whether or not there were positive lab findings of Cryptosporidium. 44. The cross-sectional study similarly ignored the 32 individuals (11% of those with confirmed diarrhea) who had onset of symptoms prior to March 21. Dr. Ellis asserts that the first primary case occurred on March 21. It is stretching plausibility to relate this case to sub-optimal performance of the SCU. When the SCU was repaired, it was not brought back into service until late afternoon on March 20. The daily plant log for March 20 (Exhibit C-7), shows that the plant started at 19:27 and stopped at 20:23 having produced 66,542 imperial gallons of water which would have been pumped into the clear well and eventually to the reservoirs and distribution system which holds at least 2.5 million gallons of water. 45. The plant was started by Robert Borne on the direction of Peter Allen. Mr. Allen s direction to Mr. Borne was that at a launder turbidity of 5 the filters would be able to finish it. Mr. Allen also advised that the significant thing was to have free chlorine residual of 0.2 or more. These conditions were met by Mr. Borne. The turbidity of the finished water on March 20 is recorded as 0.19 during the time the plant operated. 46. For the first primary case to have been substantiated on March 21 and attributed to the municipal water produced after the SCU was serviced, the water produced had to be pumped into the distribution system, the individual would have to have consumed water subsequent to 4:00 p.m. and become ill within 24 hours. This is unrealistic having regard to the 5/7 to 10 day incubation period and Infectious Dose 50 evidenced by Dr. Belosovic. 47. If Cryptosporidium was in the municipal water supply on March 20, it was present at a time when the treated water turbidity was at Turbidity of the treated water remained at or below 0.2 from March 20 until 09:17 on March 27 when the turbidity rose to Between March 27 and April 25, the turbidity in the treated water was variable and fluctuated between 0.3 upwards to 0.6 with an occasional reading in excess of 0.6. At no time did the turbidity exceed 1.0 NTU (Exhibit C7 Daily Plant Logs). During this period of time, the plant operators were qualified and experienced operators (Messrs. Allen, Fluney, Hollman and Wicks).

19 48. These experienced operators were aware of the fact that there was little or no settling in the SCU, but were satisfied that the water met the Provincial Objective of 1.0 NTU; turbidity was one of the surrogate parameters available by which to judge the quality of the water in conjunction with maintaining adequate chlorine residuals. The actions of the plant operators must be assessed having regard to the fact that the Surface Water Treatment Plant had previously (including February 1999) operated without incident and produced water while the SCU was not in service. It is accepted that there was a loss of efficiency of treatment related to the SCU being down and filter performance. (ii) Presence Of Cryptosporidium In Municipal Water 49. This Inquiry has been conducted around an assumption that there was contamination of the public water supply of the City of North Battleford by the presence of Cryptosporidium. It must be clearly borne in mind that in the eighteen (18) tests taken on the treated water from the Surface Water Treatment Plant between April 24 and May 10, the following are the test results: Filters 3 & 4 Crypto-oocysts Detected Date/# of liters Dead Viable Total/100 l. April l April l Treated Water Chemical Storage Room Area Date/# of liters Dead Viable Total/100 l. April 24/25 1,000 l April 25 1,000 l April 25 1,000 l Tests in the distribution system were conducted from June 15 through to July 11. Other than the finding of one (1) dead Crypto oocyst (0.1/100 l.) at 2244 Douglas Avenue on June 22, no other Cryptosporidium was found in the North Battleford distribution system. Four subsequent tests at 2244 Douglas Avenue conducted on June 23, 28, 29 and 30 were each negative for the presence of any Crypto oocysts. 51. Twenty-two tests for Cryptosporidium in the raw water at the Surface Water Treatment Plant were conducted between April 24, 2001 and October 16, The only positive findings of Crypto oocysts were made on April 26 and May 8 in the raw water as follows:

20 Date / # of liters Dead Viable Total/100 l. April l April l May l (Reference Data Summary included in Exhibit C85 Rodger McDonald Tab B6 ). There is no direct evidence that Cryptosporidium was present in the North Battleford treated drinking water on any occasion either prior to March 20 or subsequent to March 20 except for the limited presence on April 24, 25 and 30 as noted above. On April 24, raw water turbidity was 16/17; treated water turbidity ranged between 0.39 and On April 25, river water turbidity was 37; turbidity in the finished water was 0.50 to On April 30 raw water turbidity was 13; treated water turbidity ranged between 0.39 and a spike of No tests of the treated water were taken on April 26 when there was Crypto in the raw surface water. 52. Once Cryptosporidium has entered the distribution system, it can remain for an indefinite period within the lines, reservoirs and the water tower and result in infection well beyond the point in time when it entered the system. 53. The evidence is that Crypto are known to be in the North Saskatchewan River; there is evidence of high concentrations of Crypto in the river in Alberta. Concentrations of Cryptosporidium are higher in the Spring break-up and run-off. Times of low-flow tend to concentrate Cryptosporidium. The tests taken of the raw water on April 26 and May 8 show that there were Cryptosporidium in the raw water at the Surface Water Treatment Plant. 54. On the totality of the evidence, including the illness of casual visitors, the epidemiological survey and the limited findings of Cryptosporidium in the treated water on April 24 and 30, the water supply is one plausible source of the Cryptosporidium. It is interesting to note that tests of the raw water supply at the Surface Water Treatment Plant between April 26 and June 12 as well as one on September 17, 2001 showed there to be a significant amount of Giardia in the raw water supply. Random tests on stool samples at the lab failed to disclose any pathogen other than Cryptosporidium (evidence Dr. Ellis). There were no findings of Giardia in the stool samples. 55. There is no evidence that there is a relationship between the potential presence of Cryptosporidium and higher turbidity levels. There is no evidence that the presence of Cryptosporidium would cause a turbidity increase. There is evidence of Rodger McDonald and Dr. Belosovic that Cryptosporidium could enter the water system during optimized treatment and with the existence of lower turbidity. The evidence

21 is that even if the SCU was operating optimally, Cryptosporidium may not have been removed by an effectively working multi-barrier system operating within the required objectives. 56. Dr. Belosovic s position was that with a multi-barrier process, you would probably need to do some chemical inactivation in terms of protozoan parasites which is known to work; just having a number of barriers that have marginal removal capacity may not necessarily satisfy the quality of the finished water. (Dr. Belosovic s evidence pp ). 57. Dr. Belosovic agreed that removal of one of the barriers may increase the risk, of parasitic materials getting through. Dr. Belosovic s evidence is that if in a filtration/coagulation/flocculation system, the filtration process was not operating or was operating on a sub-standard basis, there would be a higher risk of having Cryptosporidium in the finished water, but that you need to know the total number of parasites in the source water (no such knowledge is available). Dr. Belosovic testified that flocculation/sedimentation is a barrier which can remove a significant number of organisms if the system is working properly and result in the reduction of the number of infectious forms. Dr. Belosovic testified that a filter is not an absolute barrier and that sand filters are a Volkswagon filtering system, compared to Cadillac - reverse osmosis. 58. Dr. Belosovic s evidence is that Cryptosporidium oocysts are 2 to 5 microns across. Due to their size, they are incredibly difficult to remove. The evidence of relevant witnesses agree that the standards set for turbidity of 1.0 NTU entering the distribution system were not set with the objective or goal of assessing the removal of protozoa. The evidence of Dr. Belosovic being that even in the full performance of a coagulation/flocculation/filtration treatment, there is no guarantee that protozoa would not pass through. B. ADEQUACY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ACTIONS TAKEN BY OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SASKATCHEWAN, THE BATTLEFORDS DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD AND THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD LEADING UP TO AND IN RESPONSE TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONTAMINATION OF THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY IN THE CITY OF NORTH BATTLEFORD. (i) Actions leading up to: (A) The Government of Saskatchewan. 59. There were little or no action taken by officials of the Government of Saskatchewan leading up to the discovery of the contamination. The Government, neither through SERM nor Sask. Health fulfilled an active role in inspecting or monitoring the performance or compliance of the North Battleford Municipal Waterworks nor any waterworks in the Province.